Chapter 4

The next month passed pretty much the same way. They greeted each other every day at school. They talked in the hallway. In public, they never touched or stood close to each other.

But they always seemed to share a secret smile or two. They went out on the weekends. Always to a place that was in the next county or otherwise far away from inquisitive glances.

In private, they held hands. They talked and got to know one another better. They had been colleagues for so long, Jacob knew a lot about her family and what she was like, but knew very little about her personally.

He, on the other hand, was an open book. His divorce was very public. His ex-mother-in-law had a big mouth and seemed to know just about everyone. There was no infidelity, but she always talked bad about him. Most everyone in the school ignored her and the shit she tried to stir up, but that didn't stop people from talking. Gossip breeds more gossip.

Their dates always ended on her front porch. She never invited him in. He never asked.

One day in first period, his students thought they were going to ambush the teacher.

"Hey, Mr. E.," Brad asked during some groupwork time. "I heard you and Miss Armstrong went out last weekend."

"That's none of your business," Jacob replied with a crooked smile.

"So you don't deny that you didn't go out."

"I deny that my personal life is anything you need to concern yourself with, Mr. Dingess."

"But you would go out with her ... hypothetically."

He shrugged. Jacob was in a playful mood. After all, this was one of his star classes. The kids were smart and generally motivated. Their test scores were up and truthfully, they had pretty much left him alone after his divorce. Besides, Homecoming was the next weekend.

"We think you two would be sooooooo cute together," Erin Owens teased.

"Oh, really," Jake raised his eyebrow. "I didn't realise the 11^th grade ran a matchmaking service."

"Only for the single teachers," she replied with a smile. "Besides, if you're happy, our test scores go up. That month before your divorce was rough on our grades."

Jacob snorted. He was always hard on the kids the first six weeks. It let the kids know he was setting a high expectation for them.

"So why don't you ask her out, Mr. E?" Tiffany chimed in.

A flippant reply was on his lips, but instead of letting it fly, Jacob shut his mouth and walked to the desk at the back of his room. The students fell silent, no doubt wondering if they had pushed their luck too far.

He reached into a drawer and pulled out an envelope and a sheet of paper. Scribbling something on the paper, Jake folded it and then sealed the envelope. "Erin, would you please take this to Miss Armstrong for me?"

The high schooler's eyes got almost as wide as her smile. She bounded out of her seat, took the envelope in one hand, the hall pass in the other and headed for the door.

"You guys need to get back to work," Jacob said before any of the other students could say anything. "Those worksheets are due at the end of class."

A few minutes later, Erin returned. She was smiling broadly. She set the hall pass on the dry erase board's marker tray, handed her teacher a sealed envelope and then sat down.

Knowing that everyone's eyes were on him, Jake ripped the end off the envelope, trying not to appear too eager.

In his sloppy teacher's script, he had written, Would you like to go out this weekend?, followed by two check boxes, one for "yes" and one for "no".

To his surprise, the "no" box was checked. Then he looked down at the bottom of his note and saw Ann Marie's flowing handwriting. Already have plans. Big dance.

Mentally, Jake kicked himself for forgetting. But then he got another inspiration. He scribbled something else on the note, sealed it in yet another envelope and held it up. "Miss Dunlap."

"Be right back." And Tiffany was off.

No one said a word except to ask about the assignment, but sure enough when the girl returned a few minutes later, all work stopped.

Jacob took the envelope and ripped it open. He saw his message, Would you like to go to Homecoming with me?

And this time the "yes" box was checked.

He tried to suppress a smile, but he couldn't. The class broke into a spontaneous cheer just as the bell rang.